From the legendary cars and stars of yesterday to today's 0-to-100-mph-in-less-than-a-second dragsters, the 'best value in sports' just got even better.
POMONA, Calif. - In today's increasingly fast-paced
and mobile world, with its
0-to-100-mph-in-less-than-a-second dragsters and the
wildly frenetic action in the open pits, perhaps no
sport on the planet does a better job of attacking
boredom from all angles than the NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series.
Whether you're 16 or 66, whether you know that AOL's
Hottest Athlete Ashley Force Hood races a Ford Mustang
at 300-plus mph, if you live in Southern California,
you should drop what you're doing and make plans to
attend the 50th running of the Kragen O'Reilly NHRA
Winternationals presented by Valvoline, Feb. 11-14, at
storied Auto Club Raceway at Pomona (ticket
information at 800-884-NHRA or ticketmaster.com).
"This will be a once-in-a-lifetime event not just for
drag racing fans in Southern California, but for all
Southern Californians," said Gary Darcy, NHRA senior
vice president, sales and marketing. "To see - and
feel - an NHRA drag race in person is the ultimate
adrenaline rush in sports. Combine that with our
unparalleled Open-Pit access, and all of the really
extraordinary activities we have scheduled to
celebrate this 50th running of the Kragen O'Reilly
Winternationals, and you have a package that we
couldn't be more excited to offer to sports fans and
families here in our home market of Southern
California."
Already renowned as "the best value in sports" by the
SportsBusiness Journal for all of the ways fans can
entertain themselves at an NHRA event, they'll have to
come up with a new category to characterize the value
of a ticket to the 2010 NHRA season-opener.
To mark the milestone 50th running of the iconic
Winternationals, NHRA has scheduled a series of
"events-within-the-event" that will transform Auto
Club Raceway at Pomona into a virtual hot-rodding
amusement park for the weekend.
In addition to what fans can already expect at an NHRA
race - the open pit access, interaction with drivers
and crews, witnessing the quickest accelerating
vehicles on the planet and so much more - among the
scheduled events specific to the 50th running of the
Winternationals include:
* The Golden 50 Corral Car Show, effectively a museum
displaying the cars including Roland Leong's Hawaiian
and Don "The Snake" Prudhomme's Hot Wheels Funny Car
that laid the foundation for today's 7,000-horsepower,
300-mph dragsters
* Daily Cacklefests, featuring top cars from the last
50 years in one of the oldest traditions in drag
racing
* Autograph sessions with NHRA legends, including
Shirley Muldowney, "Big Daddy" Don Garlits, Bob
Glidden, Kenny Bernstein and many, many more
* Exhibition runs by legendary tribute cars on the
Auto Club Raceway track
* The unveiling of the Greatest Moment in
Winternationals history (the complete list of moments
can be found on NHRA.com) NHRA has also launched an
event-specific Web site that is chock full of features
that will help first-time and returning fans heading
to Pomona for this historic event, including lists of
all past winners, plenty of vintage video and a
decade-by-decade look back at the second-longest
running event on the NHRA circuit behind only the Mac
Tools U.S. Nationals.
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
SCHUMACHER HUNGRY TO INCREASE HIS LEGEND AT LEGENDARY
RACE
POMONA, Calif. - With seven Top Fuel world
championship trophies on his mantle, including the
last six in a row, some might think it's a chore for
Tony Schumacher to pump himself up for yet another
season, another title run, to try and keep his
dominating streak going.
But Schumacher says he doesn't have those problems.
He's a racer, pure and simple. He says he was ready to
race the next weekend after last year's finals. It's
been a long winter for the Chicago-based speedster.
So as his U.S. Army team rolls to the starting line
for the first time in the 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series season at the 50th annual Kragen
O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 11-14
at historic Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Schumacher,
arguably the greatest Top Fuel driver in NHRA history
with 61 career victories, will be itching to get the
season started like never before.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and
Jason Line (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which
will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
As an A-plus student of the sport of drag racing,
Schumacher knows the importance of this milestone
event and all the legends that have come before him.
To know that his name is now mentioned alongside Don
Garlits, Kenny Bernstein and Don Prudhomme, to name a
few, as one of the greats, gives Schumacher even more
motivation to succeed.
"It all starts at the Winternationals," said
Schumacher, who won NHRA's prestigious season-opening
event in 2004 and 2008. "The biggest names that have
ever won championships in racing and just races in
general started right there. So that's the place.
The history of racing comes from California. To go
out and perform at that race from the first get go,
man, you just can't beat it. It was an amazing thing
to be able to accomplish."
Schumacher's Winternationals titles came during some
amazing championship runs during the last decade. He
claimed world championship titles in 2006 and 2007 in
dramatic fashion during the closing moments of the
season. In 2008 he had one of the most dominating runs
ever, ultimately capturing the prestigious DRIVER OF
THE YEAR title for all of motorsports. However his
title last year - a two-point thriller over rival
Larry Dixon - may be his most satisfying of all. He
won the title with a new crew chief and new teammates,
defeating former tuner Alan Johnson and most of his
former crew.
"It was an amazing year last year to be able do what
we did," Schumacher said. "To be able to go out there
after losing Alan Johnson and my whole Army team and
beat them by two points, which is what everyone in the
world showed up to watch."
Schumacher expects another tough battle with Dixon and
the Al-Anabi Racing team. However, many other drivers
will be in the championship hunt as well, including
Antron Brown, who swept the Western Swing last season
in his Matco Tools dragster, veteran Cory McClenathan
in the FRAM Tough Guard dragster, a reenergized
Brandon Bernstein in the Copart dragster, and Morgan
Lucas, who won three times last year in the GEICO
Powersports dragster.
"We're giving them the best show I've ever seen,"
Schumacher said of the competition in NHRA Top Fuel.
"It is brutal right now, the hardest thing I've ever
been a part of. Best show I've ever been a part of."
Schumacher still gets a chuckle at all of those
prognosticators who predicted his downfall last year.
And he knows there may be a few who still think last
year was a fluke. No matter, he plans to keep his
expectations in check and focus on the task at hand,
just like he's done for the last six
championship-winning seasons.
"I never expected to win six championships in a row,"
Schumacher said. "And I don't expect to go on and win
every championship from here on out. The
competition's too tough. We're going to show up,
qualify the best and run the best we can each round.
At the end of the season we'll know where it falls."
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
FUNNY CAR TITLE CONTENDER FORCE HOOD CAN JOIN STRONG
FEMALE LEGACY OF WINNING AT TRADITION-RICH
WINTERNATIONALS
POMONA, Calif. - Ever since Shirley Shahan raced past
Ken Heinemann for the 1966 Stock Eliminator victory
and became the first female winner of a national event
in NHRA history, the Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals has become a race that's known for the
girls beating the boys.
In Top Fuel, four women have visited winner's circle
at the tradition-rich event at historic Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona. The legendary Shirley Muldowney was
the first female to win a Top Fuel title and raced to
two victories here, in 1980 and 1983. She was
runner-up in 1982. Lori Johns won in 1990, Shelley
Anderson in 1994 and most recently Melanie Troxel
opened with a Winternationals victory in 2006.
There has never been a female in a Funny Car final
round at the Winternationals, but that could change
this season. Ashley Force Hood, who finished second in
the Funny Car point standings last year with two wins
in eight final rounds, comes into the much-hyped 50th
anniversary event Feb. 11-14 as a heavy favorite to
win the race, as well as the pre-season favorite for
many to win the world championship crown.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and
Jason Line (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which
will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
Force Hood, who has claimed many firsts during the
past three seasons, including first female in her
category to go to a final round, win a race, lead the
point standings and hold the national speed record, to
name a few of her accomplishments, seems poised to
make more history in her Castrol GTX Ford Mustang. She
understands what it would mean to be a part of the
great Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals legacy.
"It's just a huge event," Force Hood said. "The first
race of the year kicks off everything. Everybody new
out there, new sponsors, new fans, it's the race you
want to do well at and start your year strong. It
definitely gives you a great confidence boost if you
are able to start your season on such a great note.
And I think it's going to be a big deal. I know that
NHRA is promoting a lot and doing a lot of special
events and activities. It's going to be exciting. I
hope we can do well there. It is a tough one to win
because you are coming back after a few months off.
You might have a change in crew members or changes
with your car. But we're all out there. That's what's
on everyone's mind in their off season is to go out
and win that race. Especially this year. It's such a
special one, it's going to be cool."
While she's heard the rumblings that she may have the
car to beat this season, she puts it all in
perspective. It may be an overused cliché, but she's
taking them one race at a time. Her car may top 310
mph, but her focus on the season is slow and
deliberate.
"We've got to go out there for the Winternationals and
we've got to qualify," she said. "We've got to
utilize every qualifying run. Get that info that we
need. I need to get my experience in the car and then
go out there hopefully on Sunday and have a strong
race. That is the way that we believe, and every team
might have a different philosophy for how they do it.
But we try to not even get so far ahead to where we're
thinking of the championship points. For now we want
to win the Winternationals. We want to qualify and
win the Winternationals. So that's where our goals
are set as of today."
After finishing 10th in points in her rookie year and
sixth in 2008, her second-place run last year came up
a few points short of teammate Robert Hight, who
claimed his first championship title. Hight's Auto
Club Ford Mustang will be just one of the very tough
competitors she'll have to face in order to win the
Winternationals and the season title.
In addition to Hight, other top contenders in Funny
Car include her father, 14-time champ John Force, last
year's third place finisher Ron Capps, 2008 champ Cruz
Pedregon in his Snap-on Tools Toyota, fellow-Ford
drivers Tim Wilkerson and Bob Tasca, two-time champ
Tony Pedregon and the always tough Del Worsham.
"I believe in Funny Car the competition has gotten so
close," Force Hood said. "That's why the fans love to
see the Funny Car category. There are so many
different teams, every pair that goes up there is a
car that can run a great time. There is nobody really
dominating anything. So it's exciting to watch, and
obviously, it's exciting to be a part of that."
And in terms of the Full Throttle Series championship
hunt, Force Hood isn't putting any extra pressure on
herself or her race team.
"Maybe the championship will be ours, and maybe it
won't," Force Hood said. "You know, the talent, the
skill, all those things are so important. Sometimes
you just need a little bit of luck, and that is part
of this racing thing as well. We can just do the best
that we can do. And not let the pressure that media
or fans might want to put on us on this championship,
not let it get to us because it doesn't help you at
all. Every time you go up to run that car, we're all
doing the best that we can do. Whether it's your day
to win or not, you know, it's how it's going to be.
You can't get too ahead of yourself."
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
PRO STOCK'S COUGHLIN SAYS WINTERNATIONALS OFFERS
ELECTRIC ATMOSPHERE, PLENTY OF EXCITEMENT
POMONA, Calif. - Every season Jeg Coughlin says he
anxiously counts the days until the start of the
Winternationals. So you can imagine the popular Ohio
Pro Stock driver's eagerness to be a part of the 50th
annual edition of one of NHRA's most tradition-rich
and historic races.
Not only does the event mark the beginning of a new
season, but for Coughlin it marks an event at a track
where the JEGS.com Chevy Cobalt driver has excelled
since he turned pro in 1997.
Maybe Auto Club Raceway at Pomona just fits the eye of
Midwestern-based Pro Stock drivers. Just like
Indiana's Bob Glidden, the winningest pro driver in
Winternationals history with seven victories, Coughlin
has put together a strong performance record at this
track. Of his 10 career finals and six wins at Pomona,
two wins and four finals have come at the
Winternationals.
Coughlin will be among the Pro Stock favorites at the
50th annual Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals presented by Valvoline, Feb. 11-14.
Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny Car) and
Jason Line (Pro Stock) are the defending winners of
the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series event, which
will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
"Pomona and the Fairplex are always electric at the
Winternationals," Coughlin said. "When you roll onto
those historic grounds for the first race of the year
there is just a lot of excitement in the air. All the
new teams, new colors and most importantly, everybody
has a fresh start in the points. There is a lot of
media coverage and the fans literally come from all
over the world to attend that race. It just really
makes you want to focus that much more to go out and
perform and win the Winternationals."
He says the secret to success at Auto Club Raceway at
Pomona is essentially the same at all tracks:
preparation. Last year he didn't win the
Winternationals, but Coughlin's JEGS.com team's
pre-season preparation paid big dividends. He raced to
seven victories in nine final rounds in the first 18
events to finish the regular season as the top seed
for the Countdown to 1 playoffs.
"Without question, being prepared is the key,"
Coughlin said. "You have almost three months to
prepare for the first race and getting out of the gate
with momentum is very important to having a good
season."
Last season veteran driver Mike Edwards ultimately won
the championship, his first as a driver. He will be
back this year to defend his title with a new sponsor
in Interstate Batteries. He is one of the drivers
Coughlin figures to battle in the championship hunt.
Others include four-time Winternationals winner Greg
Anderson, defending winner Line, Team Mopar Avenger
driver Allen Johnson, fourth-place points finisher
Greg Stanfield and the always-tough veteran drivers
Ron Krisher and Johnny Gray.
"It will be interesting to see how our off-season
efforts stack up within the Pro Stock ranks," Coughlin
said. "There are three or four teams with multiple
cars that have been awesome and we feel as though we
will be back in the mix again with them. We will
approach the season similar to 2009 and that is to be
prepared, drive aggressive and put ourselves in a
position to win rounds and win races."
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
FOR 50 YEARS NHRA WINTERNATIONALS HAS CREATED ITS
SHARE OF MEMORABLE HOT-RODDING MOMENTS
POMONA, Calif. - Since 1961, the Kragen O'Reilly Auto
Parts NHRA Winternationals has been NHRA's official
season kick-off event. For 50 years, drag racers have
flocked to venerable Auto Club Raceway at Pomona to
show off their new race cars, paint schemes, sponsors
and new drivers. With each new season world
championship hopes begin anew.
Since then, a lot has changed on the drag racing
landscape. There's big money on the line for the race
victory as well as the season championship. There's
worldwide television exposure. There's bigger sponsors
and bigger race car transporters. On the track the
performances are quicker and faster. And did we
mention there's more pressure on each driver to win?
While the days of racing for fun and driving
cross-country with your hot-rod affixed to the back of
a flat-bed trailer are long gone, the memories for
several of the sport's biggest icons remain.
Many of NHRA's legendary drivers will be participating
in various special events and autograph sessions at
the 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals, Feb. 11-14 at Auto Club Raceway at
Pomona, and sharing their stories from hot-rodding's
glory days. Doug Kalitta (Top Fuel), Ron Capps (Funny
Car) and Jason Line (Pro Stock) are the defending
winners of the NHRA Full Throttle Drag Racing Series
event, which will be televised on ESPN2 and ESPN2 HD.
For Bob Glidden, seven-time winner of the
Winternationals and 10-time NHRA Pro Stock world
champion, the race always meant the first opportunity
to see how the competition stacked up for the season.
"Certainly it was proven to us that Pomona was a great
springboard to the whole season," Glidden said. "And
if we could go and run well at Pomona, we ordinarily
ran well throughout the season. Fortunately, for us,
the track there at Pomona was just a great place for
us to be, because we were lucky enough to win a lot of
races there."
"Big Daddy" Don Garlits, who annually towed his race
car from Florida, claimed Winternationals trophies in
Top Fuel five times, and always loved to check out the
latest gadgets and gizmos in Pomona.
"The Winternationals was a special deal because that's
where we saw the new cars," said Garlits, voted the
greatest drag racer of all time in 2001 during NHRA's
50th anniversary season. "That's where we tested our
new stuff like that rear engine car was tested. Well,
I tested a lot of stuff there. The first port nozzles
in drag racing were tested there in Pomona. The wing
on the car in 1963 was tested there in Pomona. It was
a test bed. Of course if it didn't work real well,
you went home and regrouped and you had time because
there wasn't a race real soon afterwards. But it was
just a great deal because we loved it. It was out in
California where all the manufacturers were, all the
equipment was out there. The track was great, and
there were lots of competitors."
According to Garlits, sometimes the real adventure was
actually making it to the track, not making it down
the dragstrip.
"We towed on open trailers and four door sedans,"
Garlits said. "The used ones I might add. We were all
good mechanics. Most of those cars ran real good.
They didn't look all that good, but they were pretty
sound automobiles. We could make that trip from Tampa
to Los Angeles in 54 hours, me and Art Malone and
Connie Swingle. And we did it many times just like
that. It was fun."
A young Kenny Bernstein advanced to the final round in
his very first race, at the Winternationals in 1973,
where he lost to Don Schumacher. Now with six world
championship crowns and 69 victories to his credit
after an amazing career behind the wheel, Bernstein
reflects on those early days with a big smile.
Bernstein went on to win the Winternationals in both
Funny Car (1987) and Top Fuel (1992), one of only
three drivers in NHRA history to accomplish the feat.
"You know, the Winternationals for me, being from
Texas, we called it the 'Big Go West' back in the
early days," Bernstein recalled. "That's what they
named it. For all the kids back when we were growing
up, we couldn't wait to have our chance to go to
Pomona for the Winternationals. Then later when I did
become able to do this as a profession, the
Winternationals always marked the start, obviously of
the season. But it was almost a welcome race in the
sense that you had been off for a couple of months and
you were anxious to get back to it. You wanted to see
all the new cars, all the new looks, all the new teams
-- whatever was coming would always show up at
Pomona."
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
"GOLDEN 50 CORRAL" HEADLINES SERIES OF PREMIER BONUS
EVENTS ON DISPLAY AT THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY
WINTERNATIONALS
The once-in-a-lifetime display of vintage cars will be
free and open to all NHRA fans with their admission to
the 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals
POMONA, Calif. - Whatever your favorite sport or
hobby, nothing stirs the emotions like a walk down
memory lane.
And nothing, not before or perhaps ever again, will
compare to the walk down memory lane NHRA fans will
get to take at the 50th running of the Kragen O'Reilly
NHRA Winternationals, Feb. 11-14, 2010 at Auto Club
Raceway at Pomona, when NHRA officials unveil the
"Golden 50 Corral," a car show to end all car shows.
>From "Big Daddy" Don Garlits' Swamp Rat V to the
Kohler Brothers' King Kong AA/GS to the Stone, Woods &
Cook Willy's coupe (voted No. 1 in National DRAGSTER's
"Favorite Race Car Ever" poll) to so many more
classics, this would be a drop-everything, must-attend
event for every car enthusiast from Los Angeles to
London - even if it stood as a standalone, paid-entry
car show.
But admission to the once-in-a-lifetime event,
amazingly, will be free and open to all NHRA fans with
their entry to the historic 50th annual Kragen
O'Reilly NHRA Winternationals.
"We know how emotionally connected our legion of fans
are to this era of NHRA drag racing so we couldn't be
more excited about providing them with this rare
opportunity to see and touch and feel this very
important part of their past," said Gary Darcy, NHRA
senior vice president, sales and marketing.
The "Golden 50 Corral" will feature approximately 75
cars and from that collection of vehicles 50 will be
identified as the "Golden 50" based on historical
event significance, originality, and quality of
presentation.
Some of the other legendary cars on display will
include:
* Don "The Snake" Prudhomme's Hot Wheels Car Hauler
and AA/FC and Shelby Super Snake AA/FD
* The "big-four" Fuel-Altereds: Pure Hell, Pure
Heaven, The Winged Express and the Mondello and
Matsubara entry
* The Chi-Town Hustler
* The Candies & Hughes AA/FD and AA/FC
* The Dragmaster Dart and Dragmaster Two Thing AA/D
* The Jungle Jim AA/FC
* The Bud King AA/FC
* The Hawaiian AA/FD and AA/FC
* Bruce Larsen's USA-1 Chevelle AA/FC
* Howard Cams Twin Bear AA/GD
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
TOP FIVE WINTERNATIONALS MOMENTS TO BE REVEALED
POMONA, Calif. - To help salute the milestone 50th
Anniversary Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA
Winternationals at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona Feb.
11-14, NHRA fans had the opportunity to vote for their
favorite Winternationals moment of the past 49 years
in a special poll on NHRA.com. Moments 6-25 have
already been announced. During race week the top five
moments will be revealed, culminating with the
unveiling of the top moment during Sunday's pre-race
festivities at Auto Club Raceway at Pomona.
TOP 5 FINALISTS (listed in chronological order)
Garlits Goes Big (1963) -- Don Garlits already was a
drag racing legend, but his first NHRA win, with a
revolutionary and controversial winged Top Fuel
dragster, really puts him on the map
The Mystery Train (1963) -- Bob Muravez, forbidden by
his parents to drag race, wins Top Gas in the fabled
Freight Train twin-engine dragster using the pseudonym
Floyd Lippencott
'Grumpy' Rules First Pro Stock Go (1970) -- Crowd
favorite Bill Jenkins wins NHRA's first Pro Stock
title, besting the previously unbeatable Sox & Martin
team in the final with low elapsed time of the meet
Garlits Kicks 'em in the Rear (1971) -- A year after a
near-career-ending accident, Don Garlits wins Top Fuel
with a revolutionary rear-engine dragster in its NHRA
national event debut
Up, Up, and Away (1989) -- Eddie "the Thrill" Hill
lives up to his nickname after a front-spoiler
malfunction sends his yellow Top Fuel dragster soaring
across the finish line
PREVIOUSLY UNVEILED
6. That's Really Showing 'em (2006) -- Robert Hight's
Funny Car engine blows in round two, destroying the
body; The team pulls the body off its show car and
wins
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1981) -- The roof of
Raymond Beadle's famed Blue Max Funny Car blows off at
the finish line on a winning semifinal run, but fellow
Texan Kenny Bernstein allows Beadle to saw the roof
off of his car and graft it to the Max; Beadle loses
the final, but not for lack of effort
8. Scelzi Sez ... Winner (1997) -- Gary Scelzi wins at
his first event since taking the wheel of Alan
Johnson's dragster five months after the death of
Alan's brother, Blaine; He becomes the first driver
since K.C. Spurlock in 1990 to win in his Pro debut
9. 'The Snake's' Double Strike (1998) -- The two fuel
cars owned by Don "the Snake" Prudhomme double up with
wins by Larry Dixon and Ron Capps; Prudhomme hadn't
won as a driver or owner in Pomona since 1978
10. The Kid Is All Right (2008) -- Former Pro Stock
Motorcycle racer Antron Brown shows that he is as
adept on four wheels as on two when he qualifies No. 1
in his Top Fuel debut
11. The Flyin' Hawaiian (1969) -- Roland Leong's first
Hawaiian Funny Car, an ill-handling, full-size Dodge
Charger driven by Larry Reyes, takes flight and sails
backward through the finish-line lights; The duo wins
the race the following year
12. 'The King' Gets Crowned (1993) -- Kenny Bernstein
loses more than the Top Fuel final to Joe Amato; The
former world champ loses, in succession, an engine, a
tire, control of his race car, and the race car itself
in a violent top-end tumble that leaves "the Bud King"
dazed but unhurt
13. Garlits' Gift (1975) -- Don Garlits smokes the
tires against Don Ewald in round one of Top Fuel, but
Ewald is disqualified for crossing the centerline;
Garlits wins the event and season title and admits
that had he not won the Winternationals, he likely
would not have pursued the championship
14. Hawaiian Domination (1965-66) -- Car owner Roland
Leong wins Top Fuel back to back, giving Don Prudhomme
his first win in 1965 and Mike Snively his a year
later
15. Thar She Blows ... again! (1984-85) -- Al Segrini
wins dramatic back-to-back Funny Car titles; In 1984,
he rides out a huge top-end blower explosion; the
following year, he crosses the finish line with a
cockpit full of sparks from a disintegrating clutch
16. Ladies Day (1966) -- Shirley Shahan becomes the
first woman to win a major drag racing national event
eliminator title with her stunning victory in the
popular Top Stock class
17. Upset of the Decade (1990) -- With the ink
practically still wet on his nitro license, K.C.
Spurlock wins Funny Car in his Pro debut, knocking off
John Force, Bruce Larson, and, in the final, Ed "the
Ace" McCulloch
18. Roll Over, Ivo (1974) -- Tommy Ivo barrel-rolls
his beautiful Top Fuel dragster in the finish-line
lights during qualifying in a fiery and car-destroying
crash
19. Rookies Rule (2001) -- Former Top Alcohol Dragster
racer Darrell Russell joins Gary Scelzi and K.C.
Spurlock as the only drivers to score in their
Professional debuts by winning aboard Joe Amato's Top
Fuel dragster with rookie crew chief Jimmy Walsh
20. Galloping Ponies (1968) -- Ford crashes Mopar's
Stocker monopoly with a fleet of 10 Cobra Jet
Mustangs, and Al Joniec, at the wheel of the
Rice-Holman entry, collects the victory
21. The Real Winter-nationals (1978) -- Southern
California is supposed to be home to sunshine and blue
skies, but the 1978 event is besieged by foul weather,
including a first ever: a rare dusting of snow
22. The America's Cup, Quarter-Mile Style (1987) --
While U.S. sailors battle the Australians in the
America's Cup, American Kenny Bernstein and Aussie
Graeme Cowin wage their own war in Funny Car, complete
with flags on their tow vehicles
23. Seven Seconds to Glory (1982) -- After years of
using a complicated weight-break rule, NHRA switches
Pro Stock to a straight-up 500-cubic-inch limit. The
big horsepower gains lead to the class' first
seven-second pass, by the late Lee Shepherd
24. Too Slick for Its Own Good (1986) -- Gary Ormsby
unveils a super-swoopy streamliner, and the car's
debut is a bang ... in the worst way. An ignition
short caused by the engine-cloaking body leads to a
huge blower explosion in the water box on its first
pass
25. In Hindsight... (1975) -- Dennis Geisler calls his
rare rear-engine Funny Car Hindsight; after he
backflips the flopper in a huge starting-line
wheelstand, he might have had second thoughts on its
design
* SCHEDULE: Pro qualifying sessions are scheduled for
3 p.m. on Feb. 11-12 and at noon and 3 p.m. on Feb.
13. Final eliminations begin at 11 a.m. on Sunday,
Feb. 14.
* TICKETS: Tickets are available for the 50th annual
Kragen O'Reilly Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals
presented by Valvoline. Call NHRA at (800) 884-NHRA
(6472) or visit nhra.com or ticketmaster.com.
* ON TV: ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two hours of
qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET) on Saturday,
Feb. 13. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA Race
Day, a 30-minute pre-race show, at 10 a.m. (ET) on
Sunday, Feb. 14. ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of eliminations coverage beginning at 8 p.m.
(ET) on Sunday, Feb. 14.
* LUCAS OIL SERIES: The 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly
Auto Parts NHRA Winternationals presented by Valvoline
also will feature competition in seven categories in
the NHRA Lucas Oil Series, where the future stars of
the NHRA Full Throttle Series earn their racing
stripes. Lucas Oil Series qualifying begins at 8:15
a.m. on Feb. 11. Lucas Oil Series eliminations begin
at 8:15 a.m. on Feb. 12.
* ON THE WEB: Get live timing, scoring, multimedia and
the latest news updates from every NHRA Full Throttle
Drag Racing Series event on the Internet at
www.nhra.com. Visit the official NHRA pages on
Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
* * *
KRAGEN O'REILLY NHRA WINTERNATIONALS FACT SHEET
WHAT: 50th annual Kragen O'Reilly NHRA
Winternationals, the first of 23 events in the NHRA
Full Throttle Drag Racing Series. Drivers in three
categories -- Top Fuel, Funny Car and Pro Stock --
earn points leading to 2010 NHRA Full Throttle Drag
Racing Series world championships.
WHERE: Auto Club Raceway at Pomona, Pomona, Calif.
Track is located off I-10 at Fairplex Drive. Go north
on Fairplex drive to the Fairplex.
WHEN: Thursday through Sunday, Feb 11-14
SCHEDULE:
THURSDAY, Feb. 11 - Sportsman qualifying begins at
8:15 a.m.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSION at 3 p.m.
FRIDAY, Feb. 12 - Sportsman eliminations begin at 8:15
a.m.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at 3 p.m.
SATURDAY, Feb. 13 - Sportsman eliminations begin at
8:15 a.m.
PROFESSIONAL QUALIFYING SESSIONS at noon and 3 p.m.
SUNDAY, Feb. 14 - Pre-race ceremonies, 10 a.m.
FINAL ELIMINATIONS begin at 11 a.m.
TELEVISION:
Saturday, Feb. 13, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise two
hours of qualifying highlights at 11 p.m. (ET).
Sunday, Feb. 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise NHRA
Race Day, a 30-minute news magazine show, at 10a.m.
(ET).
Sunday, Feb. 14, ESPN2 and ESPN2HD will televise three
hours of coverage starting at 8 p.m. (ET).
SATELLITE (Analog feed):
Friday, Feb. 12, 8:30 - 9 p.m. (ET), AMC 9 /
Transponder 18K (12060 MHz, vertical)
Saturday, Feb. 13, 10 -10:30p.m. (ET), AMC 9 /
Transponder 18K (12060 MHz, vertical)
Sunday, Feb. 14, 10 - 10:30 p.m. (ET), AMC 9 /
Transponder 18K (12060 MHz, vertical)
Video news release contains race action highlights
each day and winners' interviews on Sunday.
2009 EVENT WINNERS: Doug Kalitta, Top Fuel; Ron Capps,
Funny Car; Jason Line, Pro Stock.
TRACK RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.772 seconds by Tony Schumacher, Nov. '09;
321.58 mph by Larry Dixon, Nov. '09.
Funny Car - 4.037 seconds by Robert Hight, Feb. '09;
and 301.55 mph by Hight, Nov. '09.
Pro Stock - 6.528 seconds by Greg Anderson, Feb. '09;
and 211.63 mph by Jason Line, Feb. '09.
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is a 1000 ft.
Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle is 1320 ft)
NATIONAL RECORDS:
Top Fuel - 3.771 sec. by Tony Schumacher, Oct. '08,
Richmond, Va.; 319.60 mph by Antron Brown, Oct. '09,
Richmond, Va.
Funny Car - 4.023 sec. by Ron Capps, Feb. '09,
Chandler, Ariz.; 312.13 mph by Ashley Force Hood,
April '09, Atlanta
Pro Stock - 6.509 sec. by Mike Edwards, Oct. '09,
Richmond, Va.; 212.36 mph by Greg Anderson, Oct. '09,
Richmond, Va.
(Top Fuel and Funny Car race distance is 1,000 feet;
Pro Stock and Pro Stock Motorcycle race distance is
1,320 feet)
TICKETS: For tickets call NHRA, (800) 884-NHRA (6472).
Tickets also available at Ticketmaster.com or at
NHRA.com
GENERAL ADMISSION (includes pit pass) - FULL EVENT:
$130. DAILY: Thursday: Adult, $25; Junior (6-12
years), $10; Friday: Adult, $30; Junior (6-12 years),
$10. Saturday: Adult, $50; Junior (6-12 years), $10.
Sunday: Adult, $50; Junior (6-12 years) $10. Children
(5 years-under), free with paying adult in general
admission and pit access areas each day.
RESERVED SEATS (includes pit pass) - FULL EVENT: $150.
DAILY: Friday: Adult, $40; Junior (6-12 years), $15;
Child (5 years-under), $10. Saturday: Adult, $62;
Junior (6-12 years), $20; Child (5 years and under),
$10. Sunday: Adult, $62; Junior (6-12 years), $20;
Child (5 years and under), $10.
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